Spirited Away : Memories
by Song of Wind Chimes
Summary: Eight years have come and gone. Chihiro, now a woman, has long lost hope in the dragon she once called her own. Reaching her river of memories, she says her final farewell. Little does she know, beneath the surface, a dragon stirs...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_The two stood on top the hill. His hand clasped hers in a firm grip, and she could feel the urgency pounding in his veins. _

"_Will we meet again sometime?"_

"_Sure." _

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise. Now go, and don't look back."_

_The girl looked into his eyes. Piercing silver, they had touched her in a way no other had. They were her world, just as the boy himself was. They stared down at her, fierce, forcing her to submit and to trust._

_She had no choice. She believed him._

_The girl, after one last look, turned away and took off down the hill._

_She didn't look back._

The fall breeze lightly caressed her, rustling her long brown ponytail, held up by a red hair-band. She made her way down the rocky hill, careful not to slide. A pair of light framed glasses sat on her nose, and she pushed it back as she concentrated. In a few seconds, she stood on the familiar brick bridge facing the Kohaku River, gazing at the surface.

A woman stared back at her.

She bore little resemblance to that scrawny, clumsy girl of ten.

_What would he think of me now?_

Chihiro smiled bitterly. She had lost hope in that promise he made her, eight years ago. Patting the grass before sitting down, she lightly touched the rippling water. Years later, the river improved in health. Now, the waters shone and sparkled, beautiful… so much like the spirit that inhabited it.

_Where are you now?_

"Haku, I'm going to university soon." She said softly. "It's been eight years. Where've you been?"

She curled her arms around her legs, rubbing her arms. The wind had picked up.

"You've missed so much." She laughed lightly. "I graduated high school, you know. And you weren't even there to see it."

So she sat there all alone, with no one but the wind, earth and river to listen.

Finally, she took a deep breath.

"I'm tired of waiting, Haku." She lightly touched the river again.

She brought her damp fingers to her lips. A feather-like kiss.

_Is this good-bye?_

"I'm sorry." She said quietly before turning on her heel and coming back the way she came.

**:::BREAK:::**

The Kohaku Spirit slept.

The dragon lay beneath the waters of his river, unconscious.

Suddenly, a warm caress awoke him.

Familiar warmth spread across his chest, and he closed his eyes, savouring the moment. Slowly, he rose from his cave and drifted closer to the surface.

"Haku, I'm going to university soon."

The woman looking down at him brought a burning ache to his chest. Her long brown hair was tied up by a familiar hair band. Zeniba's hairband. The symbol of friendship. The large brown eyes weren't hidden at all by her light framed glasses and were filled with memories he himself hadn't forgotten.

He knew it was her.

Eight years had come and passed, and the pain of seeing her again tore at him. The lie he had told her still haunted him. The dragon couldn't tear his eyes away, no matter how much the sight of her tortured his soul.

"It's been eight years. Where've you been?"

_Far away from you… as far as I could go._

The pain in her voice made him wish he could block this all out. It wasn't supposed to be this way. She was supposed to forget him. He was supposed to remember her forever.

"You've missed so much. I graduated high school, you know. And you weren't even there to see it."

After he had escaped from Yubaba's clutches, he had his future planned out. They all involved his Chihiro. But the witch's parting words had stopped him in his tracks… had him thinking.

"I'm tired of waiting, Haku."

The dragon froze.

Wasn't this what he wanted?

"I'm sorry."

He saw her stand and walk away. Footsteps died, and he heard a car rumble before dying off in the distance. Suddenly, his body convulsed as grief, pure and painful, struck him. The words she said, so softly spoken, tore his heart in two. With a snarl, he flicked his tail and the river waves rose, washing over the spot she had stood. The dragon rose from his river, his silver coiled body flashing in the sun. Blindly, he streaked into the sky.

For the first time in his life, the dragon cried.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

It rained that night.

Chihiro squinted against the rain battering down at her windshield. Since the time she returned, there had been no rain, no snow, no… anything really. The heavy downpour was a surprise to her. She, like any person, had seen rain… but this felt more than your average shower. The beat of the water was melancholy, sad, adding to the cloud of despair that had wrapped around her as she left the river.

Slowly, her small red buggy pulled up at a red light. Releasing the petal, she turned her head and gazed out the car. People walked, umbrellas held high, eyes forward, each step seemingly premeditated, as if they knew exactly where to step... exactly where to go.

Although those words promising to reunite had been a lie, Chihiro had to thank the dragon once again. Without him, she would not be like the people walking in the rain. If she had not took the time to get know him during those fateful days, she would, of no doubt, still be of the same mind she was before entering the gate... someone who just... who just didn't care.

University was starting soon. Her dream of becoming an ecologist had not died with the Kohaku's lost words. Chihiro shook her head, remembering the exact moment her future became clear. She was so young, so vulnerable when the dragon had told her his story. His eyes had glittered with unspoken emotion. His words, like the memory of the river, poured through her mind. The polluted water... the dangers that humankind wreaked on the ecosystem so many animals – and other beings, call home.

It was time someone had done something about it, and she had promised to herself that very moment, she would be the one to do it.

Ah... the good old times.

The light turned green and Chihiro was once again brought back to the land of the present. Placing her foot once again on the gas pedal, she pressed down and her buggy once again, began to move. Just as the car started into motion, she heard a screech.

Turning her head the other way, she was suddenly blinded by a bright light. The world slowed around her, and the only thing she could now see was the incoming truck. Her eyes widened as a large, blue tow truck skidded against the wet road. Shock froze her body and she swallowed. As if in slow motion, the wheels of the truck spun, trying to regain balance.

Adrenaline suddenly pulsed through her veins and once again her limbs could work. Frantically, she pressed on the gas pedal, teeth gritting as the ominous, oncoming truck, spun towards her. She heard her wheels spin in an effort to move, but she knew it was too late.

Quickly she bowed her head for a quick prayer, and a trickle of tears escaped closed lids.

_ Oh God, please, I can't die today! Not today…_

** :::BREAK:::**

The dragon couldn't help it. Like all those years ago, the girl always had been his weakness, his drug. Just that simple sight of her could reduce him to a blundering idiot. Once again, she became the blood in his veins, the air he breathed, the river to his dragon spirit. He couldn't turn away. Like the love-sick fool that he was, he followed her.

_ You're pathetic, Kohaku. Just plain pathetic._

His conscience ate at him and he grimaced, a faint growl escaping clamped jaws. Dammit, why couldn't she have just stayed away? Tossing his head, he tried once again to rid himself of her calm, serene image, rooted in his mind.

It was no use. The face was still there, and she, by God, was not leaving.

Circling the sky, he tried to catch a glimpse of her in the car. However, the vehicle blocked his view from afar. He, with his exceptional sight, couldn't even glimpse a strand of hair on her head.

Stupid… tinted… windows…

The next time the dragon would decide to crash a car, which he did often for fun, he would most definitely choose a buggy. In fact, he would crash that exact brand of car, and relish doing it. The damned thing hid her beauty like a nun's garb. He could see nothing from where he hovered.

As if on cue, he watched her pull up at a red light. Finally, he thought, a smile touching his lips.

Finally.

Slowly, he descended from the skies, making sure there were no spectators. Just before he hit the tree he had intended to hide in, his dragon transformed to the man and he lightly landed on a branch.

Thank heavens he had his name back, he thought unhumorously. After regaining his identity, the dragon realized he had lost so many of his previous skills to Yubaba. Luckily for him, generating clothing was one of several skills all dragons had, and he could once again proclaim it as his own.

A quick T-shirt and jeans quickly clad his nude body.

The light turned green.

Swearing under his breath, the dragon began to sprint in the direction her buggy. The car gently came to life and started its movement forward.

Then he saw it.

The large truck, spinning out of control, was rushing headfirst towards the buggy.

Dread filled him and on impulse, he ran towards the two vehicles.

She had risked so much, coming to him. Would he live with himself if he let her die? She had found him, and he had just found her.

Thigh muscles worked as he raced, faster and faster towards the spot, he knew would be the crash site. He had spent too long in his dragon form. His human body had long been stored away, and quickly, he tired. Breathing in, the air burned his lungs, the muscles cramped.

He couldn't give in.

She couldn't die, and no matter what, he would never, ever, let her leave him again.


	3. Chapter 3

_So. As most of you might see... I halfway decided to quit this story. BUT. Because of the reviews and support I've been getting, I was hoping that maybe the audience can give me some ideas? I've run into writer's block, and that combined with piles of homework is a deadly combination. If any of you have an idea for what happens after, send it to my inbox. Your name will be posted here if I choose to use your idea! That's it... and here's the third chapter. _

_ Thanks for reading! - karebear_

He was too late.

The Kohaku felt as if his soul had left his body. He felt like he was floating, unable to grasp the present. He stared in disbelief at the broken buggy and the dent in the truck… and then he started to run again. Cars honked around him, and people shouted, but he didn't hear any of it. When he got to the small door, he pulled it open. There, lying with her head against the wheel was Chihiro, unconscious and bleeding. A large gash had appeared along her forehead. The glass from the windows had shattered, and littered the inside of the truck. Gingerly, he pulled her out, and settled her on concrete, careful not to jar her.

"What are you doing? You could kill her!" A woman ran out from the crowd. She threw herself beside Chihiro and checked her for damage. She seemed to know what she was doing. "Chihiro! Don't make me slap you! You know I would!" She was becoming more hysterical by the second. "Oh my god. University's just next week, dammit! You don't go and kill yourself now! Your timing really sucks. It always has been!"

"And who the hell are you anyways? What do you think you are? You don't have any medical training, anyone can see that. It's an accident you dimwit. You don't take someone from inside the car! She could have seriously damaged her neck!"

Suddenly, the body on the floor stirred. Chihiro mumbled something unintelligible, and her eyes peeked open. A confused look stole over her face, and Kohaku stared back. Then recognition made her eyes widen.

"Haku? Haku? Wait… what happened? Youki… what's going on? Wait what?" She tried to sit up, but the woman from the crowd forced her to sit back down. It took all the willpower the Haku possessed to walk away at that moment… because no matter what he did, when it came to the people he loved, the powerful Kohaku spirit was useless.

**::Break::**

Chihiro began to giggle. She couldn't stop. Ahhh, the irony of it all. She must have been hallucinating. It must have been some funny Japanese who looked like Haku. That must have been it. Some guy with similar nose, mouth, chin, hair and the same swirling, beautiful eyes. It's no biggie. Everyone had those features here in Japan… right?

Her chest shook with bitter chuckles. It hurt her chest, but she just couldn't stop. Once again, she needed his help, and once again, he had left her. Even if it WAS a hallucination, what the heck was that? Some spirit must be laughing…

But ah, he was such a refreshing sight. Beautiful. The Kohaku dragon had filled out, but was still lean and powerful. His short hair had grown out, and was tied in a dark ponytail that draped down his back. He looked like a bum musician… without the facial hair. Interesting choice of body, Chihiro thought, smiling slightly. Interesting choice indeed.

Chihiro had calmed down now, and just lay there, staring up at the dark sky. Rain pounded down on her face, and she closed her eyes, relishing it. It wiped away everything that tainted her, and refreshed her body and spirit. She felt as if she could have a brand new start. Maybe that hallucination was _his_ way of saying goodbye?

She felt overwhelmed and tired, and so she closed her eyes. Chihiro slept.


End file.
